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American Airlines Announces Twice-Daily Service to a Town With Fewer Than 36,000 Residents
JT Genter
Contributor
JT is a location-independent digital nomad traveling 250,000+ miles each year with his wife Katie.
June 03, 2018
•
3 min read
American Airlines Announces Twice-Daily Service to a Town With Fewer Than 36,000 Residents
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American Airlines, the world's largest airline, is ever-expanding its network. In May, AA launched new routes to Prague and Budapest and added a new route to Venice. Not long after that AA announced new service to Hawaii and the Caribbean.
Although some of these routes might be a bit of a stretch, this week AA unveiled an especially peculiar new venture: Dallas/Fort Worth to Del Rio, Texas (DRT), a city that has 35,998 residents as of a 2016 Census Bureau estimate. The route will launch on November 4, 2018 and operate twice daily using regional partner Envoy Air's 44-seat Embraer ERJ-140.
Never heard of Del Rio International Airport? Well, that's not surprising. If you currently search Google Flights for flights to Del Rio, you're going to get an error message:
That's because Del Rio currently has no commercial airline service. The airport's last scheduled commercial air service ended November 17, 2017. But, even that wasn't very impressive: Contour Aviation operated a 6x weekly service between Del Rio and Dallas/Fort Worth using a 19-seat BAe Jetstream 32. When the route was ended, the airline noted "the targeted goals for enplanements, in order to continue this service, have not been reached."
Yet despite Contour's inability to fill a 19-seat plane, American Airlines hopes to have success filling a 44-seat plane — and not 6x weekly, but twice daily. At 88 seats each direction per day, that's a weekly "lift" of 1,232 passengers per week or 64,064 seats on the route per year.
So, why in the world would American Airlines launch this route? Well, it turns out it wasn't much of a financial risk for the airline. The city of Del Rio is providing American Airlines a revenue guarantee of $2.9 million for the first two years of operation. This funding is being generated by an increase in tolls on the busy US-Mexico international border crossing.
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But, why in the world would the City of Del Rio make such a revenue guarantee? The city is hoping to save the area's largest employer — Laughlin Air Force Base — from closure. According to Del Rio mayor Robert Garza, "believe it or not, BRAC [Base Realignment and Closure] looks at whether or not there is an airline service."
To sum this up, a city that has an easy way of collecting revenue and wants to save its largest employer is shouldering much of the financial risk to convince the world's largest airline to launch service from its commercially-dormant airport.
If you're interested in checking out the route for yourself, tickets aren't yet on sale, but the schedule is reported to be:
- Del Rio (DRT) 6:30am departure ⇒ Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) 7:49am arrival
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) 2:35pm departure ⇒ Del Rio (DRT) 3:59pm arrival
- Del Rio (DRT) 4:25pm departure ⇒ Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) 5:44pm arrival
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) 10:15pm departure ⇒ Del Rio (DRT) 11:39pm arrival
To read more about this story, check out San Angelo Live's full report on the new route.
Featured image by JT Genter
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Best for dining at restaurants
TPG Editor‘s Rating
Go to reviewCard Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Rewards Rate
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro Offer
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
$325Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.Excellent to Good
Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits.Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.